Blanton retrial begins in Virginia BeachThe Free Lance-Star, VA
By ELLEN BILTZ
3/4/2008
[Excerpts] A jury split evenly between men and women was selected here on the first of what is expected to be an eight-day retrial for the Caroline County woman charged with killing her husband. Donna Blanton, 42, is charged with first-degree murder and using a firearm in commission of a felony in the death of state police 1st Sgt. Taylor Blanton. Caroline Commonwealth's Attorney Tony Spencer had said the one thing he was concerned most about for yesterday's proceedings was selecting jurors who were unaware of the case's history, but that was accomplished by about 3 p.m. yesterday. Spencer and Blanton's defense attorney, Mark Murphy of Fredericksburg, also gave opening statements... This morning, Spencer and Stephanie Merritt, a Richmond prosecutor assisting in the case, will begin putting on evidence at about 9:30... A 23-year veteran, First Sergeant Blanton was married and had two children. He joined the Department in 1980 as a trooper. In 1996, he was promoted to first sergeant in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations. He was in charge of the Department’s Computer Evidence Recovery Unit...
PREVIOUS NEWS
Jan 11, 2005
May 1, 2005
[VA] Trooper Blanton's wife to stand trial for his death
...Suspicion shifted to Donna Blanton in the days after the Oct. 16, 2003, death of her husband. Still, she attended his funeral alongside his other relatives and scores of law-enforcement officers... Donna Blanton told authorities she was in the bathroom when she heard gunshots. She reported that the intruder dropped a gun belonging to her husband and that she then picked up the weapon and fired at the fleeing suspect... Investigators allege that Donna Blanton, before the shooting, had hidden a .380-caliber handgun belonging to her husband in a towel in a linen closet off the master bedroom. A forensic examiner testified that an impression left in the towel matched the shape of the gun...
PREVIOUS NEWSJan 11, 2005
[VA] Donna Blanton trial date set for killing trooper husband
Donna Lee Blanton, wife of Virginia State Police First Sergeant Taylor V. Blanton, was arrested and charged with his murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony... Taylor Blanton was shot four times with his own gun in his bedroom...
Donna Lee Blanton, wife of Virginia State Police First Sergeant Taylor V. Blanton, was arrested and charged with his murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony... Taylor Blanton was shot four times with his own gun in his bedroom...
May 1, 2005
[VA] Trooper Blanton's wife to stand trial for his death
...Suspicion shifted to Donna Blanton in the days after the Oct. 16, 2003, death of her husband. Still, she attended his funeral alongside his other relatives and scores of law-enforcement officers... Donna Blanton told authorities she was in the bathroom when she heard gunshots. She reported that the intruder dropped a gun belonging to her husband and that she then picked up the weapon and fired at the fleeing suspect... Investigators allege that Donna Blanton, before the shooting, had hidden a .380-caliber handgun belonging to her husband in a towel in a linen closet off the master bedroom. A forensic examiner testified that an impression left in the towel matched the shape of the gun...
May 11, 2005
[VA] Trooper Blanton's wife Donna gets 28 year sentence
...Ms. Blanton began sobbing when the verdict was announced, and audience members sitting behind the defense table also began crying. On the other side of the courtroom, hugs were exchanged... Taylor Blanton's mother, Betty Wade, who lived on a family farm across the street from her son and Donna, his second wife, said she was happy with the verdict, but called it a "no-win situation." "We feel for Donna's family's sadness, the sadness they have to go through."
...Ms. Blanton began sobbing when the verdict was announced, and audience members sitting behind the defense table also began crying. On the other side of the courtroom, hugs were exchanged... Taylor Blanton's mother, Betty Wade, who lived on a family farm across the street from her son and Donna, his second wife, said she was happy with the verdict, but called it a "no-win situation." "We feel for Donna's family's sadness, the sadness they have to go through."
May 18, 2005
[VA] Ruled guilty, Blanton says troopers killed him -
...She told 8 News that she assumed State Police would be honest and forthcoming, but now she thinks "I was just naïve about that." Blanton says she blames State Police, and alleges they "had an agenda."... She describes her late husband, State Trooper Taylor Blanton as "a good person, he was a good husband, he was a good father." However, she says, "he made some mistakes," and he was afraid. Blanton says her husband wanted protection from police, and had gotten involved in "stuff he shouldn't have been doing"... Blanton maintains that she did not kill her husband, and her children are what now keeps her going...Jul 30, 2005
[VA] Trooper's wife, Donna Blanton, gets 28 years for murder
Choking back sobs as she proclaimed, "I didn't kill my husband," Donna L. Blanton nevertheless received a 28-year prison sentence yesterday for fatally shooting her spouse in October 2003... Blanton broke her silence yesterday, telling the judge that during her trial, "I sat here and I listened and I watched everything that went on," as well as following all the media accounts, she sobbed as she clutched a tissue in her right hand. The courtroom gallery -- consisting mostly of family members -- listened intently as she spoke, while some sniffed back tears. "I have kept quiet and not said anything over the past 21 months. It's just time," she said, her voice trailing off. "I don't even know where to start. I'll start kind of at the beginning"... Blanton, 40, said, "I thank God for every minute we had together." Then she said, "One day," before stopping, pausing and saying, "That's all I have to say. Thank you for listening"...
[VA] Trooper's wife, Donna Blanton, gets 28 years for murder
Choking back sobs as she proclaimed, "I didn't kill my husband," Donna L. Blanton nevertheless received a 28-year prison sentence yesterday for fatally shooting her spouse in October 2003... Blanton broke her silence yesterday, telling the judge that during her trial, "I sat here and I listened and I watched everything that went on," as well as following all the media accounts, she sobbed as she clutched a tissue in her right hand. The courtroom gallery -- consisting mostly of family members -- listened intently as she spoke, while some sniffed back tears. "I have kept quiet and not said anything over the past 21 months. It's just time," she said, her voice trailing off. "I don't even know where to start. I'll start kind of at the beginning"... Blanton, 40, said, "I thank God for every minute we had together." Then she said, "One day," before stopping, pausing and saying, "That's all I have to say. Thank you for listening"...
I met her while i wqasa in jail with her and i was SHOCKED and couldnt believe it when i found out why she was in there she seemed like a sincerely beautiful personn inside she was SO NICE and kind and helpful i couldnt even imagine how someone like her could even be in jail and then when i heard the rumors of why i was again SHOCKED BEYOND BELiEF!! i was a drtug addict i first met her when i was 18 the first time i was in jail n then again a couple years later when i was back there for a violation... Now when i heard about it i was told that HE ABUSED HER VERY BADLY and i believed it because i really could not see her commiting ANY CRIME LET ALONE MURDER and ive known alot of bad people in my druggie social circles...i was recently tellink a family member about it so decided 2research it and found this site IM FROM OUT OF STATE SO I DONT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE CRIME EXCEPT FOR THEM JAIL RUMORS....DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY INFO ABOUT IT ESPECIALLY AS FAR AS A MOTIVE???? WAS THE ABUSE CLAiM TRUE?? because now reading things it seemed like she lied a lot!
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